Musings on the byways of popular culture
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Just been feeling a little low lately and wondering if there is a chance we might hear a new pod soon?
Would love an episode on the best and worst music podcasts including great unknown podcasts. My vote for one of the most insufferable podcasts is the None But The Brave podcast on Springsteen. But, whatever, would love to hear another one.
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Everygoodboydeservesfruita on Paul Kelly’s Post 1985
In 1999, my wife rang me at work to let me know she had been for a scan and asked if I wanted to know what we were having. With great enthusiasm, she told me it would be a son. We were excited — I thought about all the things we’d probably end up doing together; the usual father-son clichés, I’m sure. But it didn’t turn out like that. Our boy, Declan, was born with a combination of autism and intellectual impairment — then epilepsy was added to the suite of conditions from which he suffers. Declan never spoke and never will, and we are committed to lifelong care. He frequently has episodes of intense emotional turmoil, screams, and spasms.
At first, this would seem far removed from the tender love song that’s Track 8 on Post. Calling it tender is odd, given the opening lyric about the person it addresses: “it is a pretty pass how you always seem to land on your feet, a little undone/anybody else by now would be cold meat.” I don’t know another love song that starts so unflatteringly. It recalls Shakespeare’s deliberately ironic idea of love » Continue Reading.
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Everygoodboydeservesfruita on Paul Kelly’s Post 1985 : Incident on South Dowling
On the morning of August 16, 1977 my grandmother awoke me to some bad news. This is how she described it, at least. She told me that Elvis Presley was dead. I was 11 years old, and Elvis meant very little to me. My grandmother was not an Elvis fan or follower, cared little for his music, and yet she recognised this as a significant day. Later that night, I watched the Elvis films that were showing to honour him. It was a few years later that I recognised the irony of lamenting his passing by showing the films that had so little to do with what made him the king of rock’n’roll.
For a few years, the anniversary of Elvis’s death was observed in a similar way. Now, nearly 50 years later, it is a historical footnote of less significance than the release of a new Taylor Swift recording. Death, as is commonly observed, is the great equaliser.
These musings on death’s dominion emerge from listening to Incident on South Dowling — the second song on Post, later re-recorded for the 1986 album Gossip in a considerably more » Continue Reading.
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Everygoodboydeservesfruita on Paul Kelly’s Post 1985
In 1985, Paul Kelly released his first album. Of course, it wasn’t his first: it was his third. But this seems to be how Kelly thinks of it, as he has prevented the re-release of his first two albums Manila and Talk, recorded with the Dots. Many ask him to relent and to allow their identity to be recognised, but Kelly’s desire to recommence his work as a writer has meant that he will not allow the airing of what he sees as unfulfilled and possibly callow songs. Hence, they seem to be lost — which rather matches my own experience. I had both of those albums recorded on the old C90 cassettes. I had a friend who owned both of them and, in the time-honoured tradition, I opted to kill music and record them onto a cassette. When my car was broken into, I lost about 40 cassettes — my copies of Talk and Manila went with them. Undoubtedly, Kelly would have been pleased had he known. Years later, Kelly would write If I Could Start Again Today, a typical song that begins his Nothing But a Dream album. The song touches on » Continue Reading.
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I have been looking to contribute again for a while and I have this Paul Kelly project in mind. I am aware that he is largely a non-entity in the UK but I also know that this place has curious and critical people.
To Her Door
Unlike most of the music I grew up with, I have no solid recollection of how I began tracking the music, the work and life of Paul Kelly. In Australia, he is regarded as the nation’s premier song-writer and he falls into a recognisable tradition of the singing -songwriting troubadour. He has a knack for the refreshed cliché . A personal favourite is “to be good takes a long long time; to be bad no time at all.”
Of course Dylan’s shadow looms large over anybody who strums an acoustic guitar, plays harmonica sometimes solo and often with a band but Kelly has sought to make a particularly Australian version of this tradition in a way that nobody in this country has even come close to. In terms of his topical range he is closer, much closer to Springsteen: dreams, travelling, love , desire , foolishness ( he’s great on » Continue Reading.
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This is not really about music though I will add some remarks along the way. Like many of you, my work is in education – thirty years and counting as an English teacher. In Australian schools we have a number of iterations of the subject and I teach Literature, General English and English Extension which includes a range of cultural and linguistic theory.
Of course, we are aware of the crisis of reading that has occupied educationalists and other fields for as along as I can remember. This brings me to my first question: was there ever a time when the perceived failure of students to read independently was not a preoccupation of the more well-read community including English teachers?
It is obvious that a key problem for young people is that solitary reading is for the most part not as exciting as the visceral thrill of skateboarding. It’s not as thrilling as the possibility of intimacy with that girl/boy down the road who is responding to your posts and messages and who is sharing tik-toks with you. It’s not as important as income from a part time job. etc. Most of us here had long periods where » Continue Reading.
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There was an earlier post along these lines from Lodestone of Wrongness about an album always loved. There is also Christgau’s book title Is it Still Good to Ya which neatly connects to my theme.
About twenty years ago my one remaining childhood friend began a process of identity woodshedding – removing that which was of no use. He stopped being deliberate about listening to music. He began by selling his substantial collection of vinyl to another collector without much care for its worth. Then he dispensed with his CDs. He would still speak occasionally about music and so I became curious about what it was he was doing. He explained that he had a kind of self-loathing for the person he was who thought that there was any real meaning in the activity of listening to music as an art form. He wasn’t really denying the art form – it was simply associated now with a previous version of himself that he no longer connected with and possibly wished to leave behind.
Like most of you here, when I was at school each time I had ten dollars I would carefully consider which album to buy next. » Continue Reading.
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It’s Day 2 of the 4th test in the 23 Ashes and I have always loved cricket. But another part of me is exhausted by it. I’m 57 not out in a few weeks time and I have been watching the Ashes from England since 1975. First trauma was 77 when Australia lost and then Greg Chappell retired. I suffered through the nightmare of 81 tour and then the long bleakness of 85. But somehow I was able to watch and enjoy it but these days with so much weight it seems so foolish to care about who wins. I want to stop caring about the result and enjoy the contest. But it is so in my blood to care that I seem not to be able to get real joy from the game. I always found that I was less parochial when I was at the ground; then the players were people and as a kid you could even wander out on the playing field. But now cricket seems a more potent symbol of life’s absurdity than respite from it.
I am fairly serious when I say that I would love to defeat the need to be / » Continue Reading.
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Recently I posted a thought about Buddy Holly and in the responses that followed there was a reference to listening to Apple/Spotify year by year pop hits. So I began a fun project of listening to two plus hours of the hits from 1955, 56, etc.
It’s been the most purely enjoyable listening I have done for a long time. I am frequently reminded of Dave Marsh’s premise in “Heart of Rock and Soul” that the album as statement does not suit this music and even goes as far to say that he regrets the primacy of the album even in his own work ( RS Record Guide). It’s been fascinating to see which singers pop their heads above the rest; not surprisingly ( or maybe it is) Elvis, Everly Brothers ( Cryin’ in the Rain just on now) , Dion and absolutely Sam Cooke. The Drifters keep making me turn my head and smile. The ones who did surprise me were Patsy Cline and Connie Francis – having never deliberately played either and never having given Connie Francis a first thought let alone a second one. If a song irritates, no problem, another will be along in two » Continue Reading.
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There is a fascinating interview between Jon Landau and Paul Simon in 1972 Rolling Stone where PS asks about the extent to which Bessie Smith’s music ( I think it was Smith – I don’t have the interview close to hand) has stood the test of time or lasted into popular consciousness. Landau says to a great extent and Simon remarks that he thinks it has not lasted. This was about 40-50 years after Smith recorded. These days I am surprised at the songs ( more so than the artists) that have, in fact, lasted. But I am also personally surprised at artists / songs that have seemingly disappeared. Watching the film ‘Pleasantville’ I always enjoy the way that Buddy Holly’s Rave On comes bursting from the speakers ( same for Be Bop a Lula). But I realize that I can’t imagine ever playing Buddy Holly again – of making a decision for him and I think there is no chance of a Buddy Holly revival. I’m trying to think of other artists of similar stature ( generally regarded as primal influences) that at a popular consciousness have really, on the whole, give or take, disappeared.
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My minor hells are
– another interview/ podcast with Graham Nash. – David Hepworth interrupting Mark Ellen to tell him that he has ‘ a theory’ – podcasters taking five minutes to laugh before starting the podcast
I know, I know, I should read a book. It’s just that my dogs like long walks.
What are your minor hells?
What is yours?
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I notice that VM’s latest offering has been sitting in the most commented for a week or two and that frequently contributors have confessed a concern about his work and ‘the man’. I have spent a fair share of time on thinking about and writing about music and recently my 20 year old daughter told me that she thought that Beautiful Vision is the most fantastic record and that Celtic Ray was one of the greatest openings to an album she had ever heard. My daughter’s partner is a young man with a PhD in film and is writing about the relationship between music and film ( it’s much more nuanced than that but you don’t need the details). He asked me if there was a good book on Morrison and I reflected that the problem is that his music and his work do not really suit any typical kind of writing about music. What kind of writing is required? Is there very much to say?
I think there isn’t very much to say and a few years ago I wrote about one song ( Cul de Sac) in this space and I haven’t had the urge to repeat » Continue Reading.
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I contribute essays to a blog/mag on spirituality in pop culture. I wrote one on John Lennon a few years back and posted it here so I thought I might repeat the process…
When I was around 20, I came across the album ‘Scoop’ by Pete Townshend. ‘Scoop’ was an album of ‘demos’; written sometimes to show others; sometimes just to road test songs. But, often, writers have found that the demo expresses something immediate, something of more substance than the product that is polished and released to be consumed.
In those times, prior to the immediate access to the songs that digital platforms now provide, I needed to endure an impatient bus ride home and then upon arrival at home hope that both the record player and the room that housed the record player were available for my use. I would pass the time of the bus ride looking at the back of the album, reading the notes, looking at the lyrics, anticipating what was to come when finally, finally, the chance to play the music would present itself. The key remarks that stand out that he had made for the album are that he continued to » Continue Reading.
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I have no particular recollection of noticing many comments or articles here about this show. Hence, I’m interested in your experience of it. I recall buying season one on DVD and pretty much rushing home to watch it thinking that I was in for a treat and a feast. I expected insightful interviews with an interesting array of people.
It certainly is an interesting array of people and season two, which is available now on YouTube, continues in that vein. However, to my surprise, Elvis is a terrible host and a bad interviewer. He reminds me a little of James Lipton who had the job of hosting Inside the Actors’ Studio. Great guests, but Lipton could make you squirm as he leaned into his guests attempting to oil his way into their affections.
Costello seems not to know how to actually ask a question. This is a problem that I see in the vast majority of interviewers, even professional ones, so I’m not that surprised to see it in an amateur. Costello is not a professional journalist and it shows. Instead, he’s egotistical, determined to show that he is the star here and everybody else is a guest. This seems » Continue Reading.
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I was asked a couple of years ago to write an article about artists who connected with the idea from Jung that we move from a first half to a second half of life. In the first half we strive for achievement and success and our identity is found there. One day, we discover that this is fraudulent. It is then that we move to the 2nd half of life where we need something more significant. The idea has been popularised through the mid-life crisis and I met it through the writings of Richard Rohr.
I lost interest in the project (ironically) but I thought I might post what I had here since I haven’t contributed anything for a little while. Can’t keep being a lurker.
Lennon Remembered: The search for the Second Half of Life
It is 1980 and I am in Year 9. I am sitting outside the old State Library in Brisbane waiting for a bus. In my hands is a small book called ‘Lennon Remembers.’ I have looked at the book for many days on the bookshelf in Myers and have wondered about buying it. Buying a book for myself seems like a » Continue Reading.
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Track 7 on 1974’s Veedon Fleece stands as everything that is great about Van Morrison, mysterious about his art and in its own way proof positive for those who find him utterly unapproachable. I have read of the obsessions that others have had with various songs and albums, claims that listeners are on their third copy since the groove was so worn. These claims have often made me feel like a pretender, a dilettante – until I come to Cul De Sac. I never tire of listening to it – listening to everything in it with confidence that its peculiar greatness will never pall. I have no great certainty about what Morrison is on about here. Lyrically, it is bizarre, as odd as anything in his very odd ‘catalogue’ ( and what a strangely typical Morrisonian word that is); it is as strange as anything on the unremittingly strange ‘Common One’ album and is, in fact, I think a completely autobiographical song about his own sense of his autistic ( I say this with love) otherness. It is, in some ways, the bleakest song he has ever written yet he does not communicate bleakness in his performance which is determined, » Continue Reading.
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Some of you might recall the critical waves made by Peter Case’s first solo album after leaving the Plimsouls. It was produced by T-Bone Burnett and had his signature rootsy sound. It was released on Geffen Records and there were hopes of ‘breaking through’.
It didn’t happen. He released albums on Geffen for a couple of years and still releases high quality stuff that sounds pretty much exactly the same. I can’t really distinguish between them.
Has anybody seen him live? Anybody a mad keen fan with ticket stubs? Anybody want to punch me out for suggesting his albums are samey?
But I want to know if he’s getting by okay. Does he have health insurance? Is he hungry? He’s a really good artist. But I’m worried it hasn’t worked out.
While I’m at it with my worry list, who’s on yours? Anybody seen Marshall Crenshaw lately? Maria McKee?
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While clearing my garage the other day I came upon an old issue of Mojo with a cover story on REM. It was a 2003 issue and the band were deep into recording what was to become Around the Sun. They talked about the difficulty of recording after Bill Berry left and their hopes for the future.
At that stage they had plenty of songs (as usual) and they were trying to “keep things loose.” Around the Sun came out and I hated it. It was the kind of dislike that actually made me doubt the band and my enjoyment of their music prior to Around the Sun. It broke our relationship and I had only regrets.
I had a slightly similar experience with Van Morrison with his sequence of 90’s albums. I stopped being interested in anything he did and even the albums I liked had the whiff of his misanthropy. I distrusted him.
I’m wondering what album has broken your relationship? Bowie’s ‘Tonight’ perhaps? Joni Mitchell’s Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm? Street Legal?
Please explain why the relationship was broken. This can be a community of healing, too. Undoubtedly, some kindly folk will attempt to mend the relationship, » Continue Reading.
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Of late I have been listening to a number of the albums of the above (IV, Physical Graffiti, Houses of the Holy. I am not very familiar with the albums at all but a fondness for Plant’s recent work has sent me back. I am aware of debates around Bonham’s drumming but it seems that the consensus is that he was great. But in the early reviews there wasn’t just a debate but outright scathing critiques of his drumming. As a disinterested listener (and a musician myself) , I find him plodding; indeed I am struck by how bad he actually seems to be on these recordings. I am wondering what the drummers and other musicians, listeners etc make of it?
Second question is about the fidelity of the sound. Again, I am struck by how ordinary the sound is on these albums. It sounds very boomy, reverb on drums and vocals that really impacts negatively.
For all of that, I quite like the albums though I vastly prefer Physical Graffiti to Houses of the Holy. So I’m a bit interested in what the aficionado’s think about these matters.
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I have been waiting for about 20 years for the most obvious collaboration album to occur. My question is what is stopping it. It could be any of the below:
1. They are really the same artist. 2. Despite surface level similarity, they are actually too different to combine well. 3. Knopfler is the more successful commercially and doesn’t need Thompson 4. Thompson can’t be in the room with the person who allowed Walk of Life to exist
But I’d love to hear them play and sing together. Have they ever actually performed together?
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I read with interest the two recent ‘Beatles’ threads and the playful dispute between HPS and Johnny C. One of the more intense moments (though still playful, I think) was the remark from HP about caring: ‘who cares’. The obvious rejoinder was issued: clearly HPS did and does. It is always fascinating (to me, at least) about why we care about these matters. I have rarely posted here; I used to do a little at the old place and I had a habit of making negative remarks about the Australian cult band The Go-Betweens; I did so partly out of bewilderment about intensity of the love for the GOBs and the intensity of my own dislike. My dislike reached fever pitch when Robert Forster was a guest on the Podcast and delivered one of the most embarrassingly inept performances I had ever heard from a highly regarded professional (tuneless non-singing, the most rudimentary guitar playing and bad lyrics). My post about this certainly resonated with some and before long the standard complaints were out: it was ‘my opinion’ and that ‘there are more important things’.
I have wondered about this notion of importance for a while. People who speak » Continue Reading.
